Happiness
by lonelylark
Summary: “He is a very lucky man, to be the one to make you happy.” The moment he'd said it, he knew she wasn't happy. Now, with the new year well on the way, Sesshoumaru is determined to be that lucky man. A Sequel to Champagne. SessKag. AU Le Gasp!
1. Happiness

**Disclaimer: **Saddly, I still do _not_ own Inuyasha. Not that I want _him_ anyway. Ya hear that, Rumiko? You can _keep_ him! Just give me Sesshoumaru and no one will get hurt...

**A/N:** Hello everyone! Contrary to popular belief, I have _not_ fallen off the edge of the round world and disappeared into a dark vortex in space. I am actually quite alive and present, though just barely. Heat of Reaction is on hold, since AP exams and finals are staunching my creativity, but I felt it necessary to post this continuation to the One-Shot Champagne (rated T). If you have not done so already, I ask that you read it prior to reading this entry, as this one will make a _lot_ more sense. Hopefully this will just be a little two-shot piece with fluff, a little drama, and a whole lot o' lovin'. Thanks for all of your support!

And now 1,829 words of...well...explanation...and happiness!

**Happiness**

The doorknob rattled several times before finally, with the click of the proper key, it unlocked and the door banged open. A silhouetted pair stumbled into the apartment, unprepared for the sudden lack of solid support, but not so fazed as to part lips. Sesshoumaru groaned as he carelessly shoved the door closed, and an audible jingled thud indicated that Kagome had disposed of the keys somewhere on the floor.

The living room was impenetrably dark, the silvery beams of the moon blocked by the heavy curtains Kagome had left shut against the night. Only by acquaintance did he know them to be crimson in color. He couldn't see his own nose in front of him, but sight inconsequential at the moment; they didn't need light to _feel_.

She was leading him backwards toward the couch – or was it he that pulled her? It was difficult to discern, as they moved in unison toward the shadowed mass of cushions. Feverish kisses left them both gasping, touching, yearning, and Sesshoumaru couldn't help but take her mouth again, even when they'd hit the couch so abruptly that he'd stumbled to the floor atop of her.

It had been such a long journey for them both up until this point, especially for him. Though Kagome had broken off her relationship with his brother, Sesshoumaru found that it did not mean she was free at all. The champagne they had shared on New Year's had been enough for him to squirm into her graces as a friend, but the evident attraction she had to him was not something she had easily allowed free reign.

Even though he had realized that very night that no other woman could exist nearly so perfect for him as Kagome (and consequently decided he would have her for his own), he had known she would not be easy. If anything, it was her candor and her class that he most admired. Unlike so many others, she had sat with him merely for conversation, without the hopes of being taken to his bed or exploiting his wealth. The entire night, she had genuinely laughed and opined without any care to who he was or what his intentions toward her may have been. Of course, as the night proceeded, those intentions became increasingly romantic. It was then, naturally, an enraging shock when she confessed not only to being involved with someone at the party, but with his very brother!

The resigned look she had sent back at his younger sibling and the woman with which he spoke so familiarly did not pass Sesshoumaru by.

The thought that anyone would leave such a stunning woman unattended on one of the most important nights of the year had disgusted him, and the revelation that _Inuyasha_ had been the one to leave her alone had only intensified the distaste he held for the boy. It left a sour taste in his mouth that the woman his father had been talking so much about was an arm's length away yet out of his reach. For a moment he had lost hope, not willing to stoop so low as to steal from his brother, until he saw that look in her eyes.

"_He is a very lucky man, to be the one to make you happy."_

He had said with the intention of covering the acid he wanted to spit across the room. But the look of shock on her heart-shaped face had given him back a bit of the faith he had lost. Evidently she wasn't happy.

And Sesshoumaru decided he would be the lucky man tonight.

He'd lingered just around the balcony as Inuyasha led her out to talk. Inuyasha fidgeted the same aggravating way he did when at a loss for words, and with the same brashness as always extracted a felt box from his pocket. The music and excited chatter was too loud for him to hear what they were saying, but the confused face of his brother spoke to him well enough to convey that Kagome had rejected his suit. As the twenty-five-year-old boy (Inuyasha was still in so many respects a boy) swept into the party bereft, Sesshoumaru took his place on the balcony.

Her back was spectacular, he had thought then, encased by the glittering gown that opened precariously low to her waist. But the dress was no comparison to the surprised shine of her eyes when he offered her the champagne. He could feel it even then, that this was the moment he had been born for, the reason for his entire existence, that every event in his life had led up to this meeting, to Kagome.

But he should have known that destiny required patience.

It had taken him two months to convince Kagome to stray from their friendly lunches and go out with him to dinner, three before she admitted their outings were dates. He remembered the deep blush that had stained her cheeks and neck when he presented her with a box of her favorite sweets over dinner on White Day, all of which he had hand selected and had arranged with particular care. Upon the arrival of May, he had successfully extended their dates to picnics in the park on weekends, knowing her fondness for the casual, and had managed to ease a few innocent kisses from her and hold her hand.

Despite her evident attraction to him, Kagome was awkward with his attentions. Sesshoumaru assumed it was due to the fact that he was much more attentive than Inuyasha when it came to tending to her needs (whether said needs were truly _needs_ or simply something he thought she should just have), and that she was unaccustomed to having someone actually chase _her_ for once. At times he imagined she also worried that perhaps she was moving on too fast after having dated his brother for three years, but he, Sesshoumaru, was determined to dispel those concerns. It was plain, in any case, that Sesshoumaru Taisho was persistent.

If she thought at that time that they were moving too fast, she no longer seemed to think so now. It had been a particularly fine June day, near her birthday, and he had surprised her with tickets to an American musical she had spoken of several weeks prior. Though more of a play for women, he had to admit that Wicked had astounding special effects. Even if it had _not_ had great masculine appeal, it had pleased Kagome, and if it pleased Kagome…well, who was he to deny her happiness?

Following the play, they had gone to dinner at a quaint bistro for something light. A quiet stroll through the park near her apartment just after the setting of the sun had been the perfect end to their day, but romantic enough to get him anxious. As held her hand nestled in his larger one, he fingered the small velvet box that rested in the pocket of his slacks.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what had inspired him to purchase the ring. Well, he _knew_ what had inspired him – he was a man who knew what he wanted, and commitment was _not_ an issue. But he also recognized the problems that lay with it. It was not only a symbol of commitment, but of love and eternity. They had only known each other for a little over five months, and only five months ago she had rejected his own brother's hand.

Concerned – because Sesshoumaru Taisho was _never afraid_ – that she might think it too soon, he had carried the ring around with him for weeks, unwilling to leave behind the symbol of his future. This night, however, the anxiousness had stirred in him like never before.

'_Now,'_ it was saying. _'Now, **now**, _**now**_.'_

When Kagome squeezed his hand slightly and offered him a heartwarming little smile, he knew it was 'Now.' He had stopped beneath a maple, pulling gently on her hand until she turned to look at him.

"Kagome," had been all he could say at first, staring at her mutely. Sesshoumaru had always been a man of few words, but for once he did not know at all what to say.

When her teddy bear brown eyes looked up at him with confusion, and the concerned "Sesshou" (his very favorite endearment from her) had left her lips, he blurted, "Marry me."

The abrupt proposal had caught Kagome evidently by surprise. Several blinks had given Sesshoumaru enough time to compose his thoughts before he continued his plea.

"I cannot live without you. I refuse to settle for anyone else. Kagome, marry me."

It was not as elegant a proposal as he had imagined it would be, and for a moment he had the impression he had ruined all he had worked for these last few months, if he did not scare her off completely. However, her lithe arms thrown about his neck as her feet dangled above the sidewalk and the exclamation of "Yes!" in his ear was not something he could ignore.

Somehow shocked by the fact that she had actually accepted his lame, almost cliché proposal, he belatedly realized he had forgotten to give her the ring. Fumbling with the box in a manner that would have shamed him at any other moment in his life, he removed the white gold band with inlaid sapphires and slipped it on her narrow finger. They looked at each other for several quiet moments, her jeweled hand held between them.

"Do you like it?" was all he could ask. The heat that had flared in her eyes and the smirk that lifted the right corner of her mouth was his unexpected answer, and before he knew it she had yanked him by the tie into a searing kiss.

It hadn't taken long for them to reach her apartment in their haste to be absolutely alone, though granted, it took longer than it should have, given the sudden insatiable urges that had swept through them both. Now they were on the floor, in the dark, making out. Below him, she panted between kisses and moans, little black dress bunched up at her waist as he fought to find the zipper. Her nimble hands had managed to divest him of his jacket and dress shirt, leaving him bare from the waist up.

At some level he objected to this outlet of passion. Their first time shouldn't be a wild rut on the floor of her living room, but a slow seduction on the new silks he had bought for her bed last month. She deserved gentle caresses and softness, and he had told her as much, but she wanted nothing of the sort. Kagome wanted rug-burn, an aching spine, and a bruise at the back of her head. She wanted this rough, unbridled passion with Sesshoumaru as proof of a desire she had never felt with anyone other than him…and who was he to deny her happiness?


	2. Happenness

**Disclaimer:** I OWN NOTHING! Except, of course, for this wonderful lemon. Talk to Takahashi about the rights.

**A/N:** I have labored laboriously, lucubrated by candelight (this is all supposed to be redundant), and have emerged victoriously exhausted with the next chapter for you, my dear readers, at ..._checks time..._ 11:44 pm. I hope you realize that it is FAR past my bedtime, and that I probably won't be able to get up this coming morning. But this is all out of love for you. Thank you, as always, to my lovely readers and reviewers, especially Elegant Paws, who continues to inspire me. You give me faith that finishing my stories _is_ possible!

**Warning:** This chapter contains mature content unsuitable for minors, primarily of the sexual nature. Proceed with caution - or not at all, if you are not inclined to read or are sensitive to sexual material.

And now...for 2,751 words of explanation and lemony!

**Happenness**

Happiness has been defined in many ways, primarily as an emotion in which one experiences feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and at times intense joy. However, what one finds in the course of life is that this elusive emotion we all strive to attain is directly related to the external chaotic forces of nature. Given this information it would be, perhaps, more appropriate to term it **happen-ness**. Things _do_ happen. Some are good things, but some are equally bad. It is therefore the _way_ in which we react to these entropic occurrences that determines our feelings – our "happiness" – and not merely events themselves.

Kagome discovered this two months after she began dating Sesshoumaru Taisho.

Alright, so she had not admitted until much, _much _later that they were actually dating, but that had only been due to her own regret. Though she had known inherently, deep within herself, that she had made the right decision by turning Inuyasha down, she couldn't help but obsess over the possibilities she had turned down, and the barren road ahead.

When Miroku had confessed that Inuyasha would propose to her on New Year's, she had been thrilled despite the niggling doubt in the back of her mind. It was something she had wanted for so long, and now her life was set. The prospects of marrying Inuyasha had paved an invisible road before her feet that would lead her through the rest of her life. With the proposal would come the preparations for the wedding. After marriage, they would acquire a home. Children would naturally follow. Cooking for family meals, watching their little ones grow – all was _expected_ to come.

With the rejection of Inuyasha's proposal, Kagome was left with the _unexpected_. All she had planned – or would have planned, eventually – had vanished in her two lettered negation. And after three years, no path to lead her, no certain destination at the end of the road, seemed quite daunting.

So she had wandered with Sesshoumaru. With no official path to walk, she'd strayed through the forest, allowing him to lead her while trying to enjoy the scenery. At first she had been wary of his persistence and their aimless trekking through the woods – here and there to lunch, now and then coffee. Over time, however, it seemed his insistent presence gained more and more aim.

That he was interested in her she had recognized immediately – someone who calls consistently almost once every day most certainly has _some_ sort of interest – but it did not help to lay new bricks before her feet or build the city walls in the visible distance. It had in no way eased her troubled mind, the insecurities of the future, the sadness that weighed down her heart. Three years, what she had devoted to Inuyasha, was a long time, and what she had told him on the balcony as he pleaded for answers had been true: she loved him. Kagome had loved Inuyasha for so long, she _still_ loved him, and it was difficult to understand why they couldn't just be happy. She had made her decision to leave him _because_ she realized that neither of them were truly happy, but even _afterwards,_ why couldn't she be happy?

The answer hit her over dinner with Sesshoumaru in March, and it came wrapped and sealed in a simple red box with a white lid and a golden ribbon. _White Day_, she'd realized as she opened the box with a blush. _Of course Sesshoumaru would get me something for White Day_. He gave her presents whenever he could find an excuse, and naturally he wouldn't let such a holiday go to waste. But that present had been particularly significant, and not because of the day. When Kagome had freed the ribbon and lifted the lid, she had been met by a multitude of sweets. Now, it's typical for men to give sweets to women on White Day, but what had separated this box from the rest, what revealed to Kagome the error of her thoughts, was the precise selection of the confections. Any favorite sweet that she could have mentioned to him during their short acquaintance had been methodically arranged in the box (and there was absolutely _no way_ that any store in Tokyo sold a box with _all_ of them together). He had paid particular care not to include any white chocolate whatsoever, despite the tradition of white chocolate on White Day, and had gone so far as to find chocolate covered raspberries.

It was not at all the romantic notion that had struck Kagome in that moment as she looked over the flickering candle at the expectant Sesshoumaru, but the realization that _something_ was _happening_. For two months she had sulked inwardly about her inability to find happiness. She'd mourned the loss of the sturdy road she had wiped away herself, but now she understood. Things were happening all around her, things that could bring her happiness, _would_ bring her happiness, if she would only let them. The path Sesshoumaru was leading her on was _not_ aimless. It was a foot path, yes, and not as straight or clean as her own had been, but it was nature's own yellow-brick-road, created by the forest animals that knew the woods much better than she did.

Suddenly, the path had cleared. Things were constantly occurring around her, and what had happened in the past she could not change. Her happiness lay in the future, she knew, and for the moment she had contented herself in letting Sesshoumaru be that happiness.

Tonight, however, she realized he was her future.

The play had been an exciting surprise, and their casual dinner afterwards had hit her hunger spot just right. Since she had let go of the past, their dates had been much more pleasant, and as they walked hand-in-hand through the silent park, she couldn't help but smile up at him. Things had been going great since she had taken control of her happiness, and she could sense they were only going to get better, but the last thing she had expected was his proposal.

In retrospect, she was surprised at having accepted him so easily after knowing him for only several months. Then again, Sesshoumaru had been so unusually and adorably flustered that she could not have possibly said "No."

Kagome groaned lustfully as his heated lips left a scorching trail down her neck and his hand teased the hem of her panties, thanking the Kami she'd said "Yes." It had never before felt so right to be with anyone, so free, so unconditionally _loved_ as with Sesshoumaru, and that was why she could give herself to him with no fear of this act that was so unknown to her.

With a pleasured sigh, she closed her eyes and arched her neck to him in abandon. His hot breath fanned her neck, lingering before leveling soft presses of lips below her ear, while deft fingers slipped the lacy blue underwear in a caress down her thighs.

Naked.

They were naked to each other now, bare and unrestrained in more ways than one. Sesshoumaru Taisho, the ruthless businessman, had brought her to this level of overwhelming acceptance, body and soul, and Kagome had wrenched from him the most caring and emotion he had ever offered in his life. A sting of warmth wetting her eyes, she wrapped her arms about his broad shoulders and pulled his heavy form flush against her. His weight was deliciously warm and leaden above her, solid, _real_. She shivered, feeling the length of his desire quiver against her thigh.

Sesshoumaru stilled, pressing his cheek to hers in an act of tenderness. He knew what she meant, without her having to say it. There was silence between them, their lust put aside for the moment as they relished each other. Letting out a content sigh, he nuzzled her nose, settling his forehead against hers before brushing his lips against her mouth coaxingly. With every lazy swipe of his mouth he increased the pressure, trailing his fingers along her collar bone and down to lovingly caress a breast. Kagome shifted beneath his ministrations, pressing firmly into the kiss and allowing her tongue to tickle his as the tips barely touched.

The delicious heat that had been weighing her limbs but spurring her to act filled her with each pass of his talented hands. Gently he thumbed the bottom swell of her breast, teasing the sensitive flesh before ghosting his hand down her ticklish belly. The combination of her ticklishness and her arousal caused the muscles to spasm beneath his hands, and she whimpered against his mouth, pleading for him to touch her again. With a languid pull of his lips he drew what he could of her tongue into his mouth and suckled it, simultaneously taking firm purchase of her breast in his hand. The nipple he teased with the tips of his fingers, drawing it taught against her ivory skin. She squirmed again, a mewl of satisfaction mingled with need calling for more, and the brush of fur against the tip of his member drew his other hand to the bone of her hip.

Kagome's reaction was instantaneous. As the tapered tips of his fingers, danced lazily along the sharp outline of her right hip, she shivered, pressing against him. The hands that had fastened around his shoulders inched down his long back, one tracing each vertebra of his spine as the other snuck down to explore the hard planes of his stomach. A swift, painful pinch to his nipple told him to move on. With three last sucks at her tongue and a playful bite to her swollen upper lip, Sesshoumaru nipped his way down her chin and to her chest.

Blue eyes widened sightlessly in the dark living room and a gasp filled the air as his warm lips devoured a plucked and puckered nipple. She wished he would devour her at that moment, one hand clinging to his hair, and no sooner had she thought it had he bit down lightly on her flesh. The unexpected tingle that snaked down her spine sent her bucking against him instinctively, drawing the roving hand on her belly to the apex of her thighs. Purposefully his middle finger sought the little pink pleasure pearl, dipping lower before returning to baptize it in the waters of her own chasm. Her cries soon filled the air, intensified when Sesshoumaru replaced his middle with his thumb and slipped the former easily into her tightening passage. The incessant mewls of his name spurred his burgeoning arousal, and adding a second finger to her sex, he began to ground it against her thigh.

Kagome gasped breathlessly, crying his name in supplication. Gods, what he was doing to her! She could feel herself coiling around his fingers like a snake, attempting to swallow them whole, wishing they were a permanent part of her, within her forever. Sesshoumaru's lusty grunts and the desperate way he rubbed his stiff penis against her leg only tightened the constriction within her walls, and the addition of a third finger catapulted her into ecstasy.

"Ah-Ahh-Sess­-_ahhh-_maru!"

How delectable she sounded, with his name on her lips. Sesshoumaru began to enjoy the darkness cloaking their act. It aroused him more, his heightened senses picking up every change in her breath, every utterance of gratitude, every shift of her hips (though by now she had been arching off the floor to meet the thrusts of his hand). The incoherent chants of his name as she hit her peak drove him to grind his shaft harder against her, and he relentlessly drove his hand harder as well, prolonging her orgasm until, unable to suppress his need and tortured by the wet essence that coated her legs and moistened his scrotum, he impaled her with a hard thrust of his erection.

The throbbing of his cock choked a throaty moan from him, but even the transfer of blood from one head to the other could prevent him from realizing that something was not right. Her sudden intake of breath had been sharper than all the others, and the stiffness in her form had not receded as soon as it should have. Deliciously tight, her passage was; _too_ tight.

"K…Kagome…" he whispered in shocked apology and regret.

She had not told him she was a virgin.

The transition from pleasure to pain had been so sudden that Kagome had barely realized the source of the inferno burning her vagina was not a fiery torch but Sesshoumaru's shaft. Consumed by the heavy sting, she locked her joints and held her breath, waiting for the pain to abate as tears filled her eyes unbidden. She had expected it to hurt, but not this much.

Above her, she heard Sesshoumaru's mournful whisper, and it made her feel worse. Knowing how doting her fiancé had been with her throughout their entire relationship, it was likely that he was feeling guilty, when she didn't fault him in the least. It had been her stupid decision not to tell him, supposedly because she felt it didn't matter, but truly because it made her feel self-conscious.

It was a fact of life: twenty-three year-old women had had sex. Kagome Higurashi did _not_.

She felt it as he leaned down towards her as gently as he could, trying his best not to shift within her, and then felt as he settled on his elbows at either side of her head before nuzzling her hairline apologetically.

"Relax. Tensing your body with only extend the pain."

Taking his advice, she willed her muscles to loosen, uncurled her toes, laid her hands flat on his back, and released her breath. The sting in her crotch did not disappear, but it lessened to a great extent. After resting in silence for some time, Sesshoumaru spoke again.

"Are you alright?" Sensing her nod against his neck, he continued. "I am going to try and pull out now. It may hurt slightly, but I promise it will be over soon."

That said, he slowly began to extract himself from her channel. Kagome gasped at the friction, the dragging of his penis against her inner walls causing a delightful chill to prick at her skin. The space it left in its wake suddenly left her feeling empty, and just as the head was all that remained, she wrapped her arms around him tightly with a needy whimper. Slowly, experimentally, she lifted her hips to slide over the rod between his legs, and a shudder escaped her.

Sesshoumaru stilled as she clung to him. At first he had thought she was pained again, but when her hips began to rise, he clutched at the carpet to prevent himself from thrusting hard. Her sex was swallowing him whole, engulfing his cock in the wet blanket of heat he had so reluctantly resigned himself to retreat from. He allowed her a few feeble thrusts before laying her back against the floor and, with a chaste kiss of her lips, began to pump a slow and steady pace.

Soon, the fire that had ravaged her core transformed into blossoming tongues of pleasure. The languid lovemaking was not enough anymore, and when her nonsensical moans weren't enough to encourage him, she pulled hard on his hair and bucked hard up against him. With a retaliatory growl, Sesshoumaru gave one powerful thrust against her and she yelped, swearing he had stabbed the back of her womb. His pace and intensity of his motions increased at her request, and soon she was reduced to a blubbering mess of nerve endings and sensitive flesh. A glimpse of his eyes glowing predatorily in the dark and the sudden blush of his long incisors against the tender flesh of her collarbone sent her rocketing in to the black abyss for the second time that night, but he didn't stop.

"Ka_aaahhh_…Ka_gome_…_Kagome…_"

Pistoning uncontrolably, Sesshoumaru held on to the last vestiges of sanity he had, unwilling to release his load until he had made her cum a third time. He slowed, allowing her the time to come down from her high and himself the time to gain enough control over the will of his cock before beginning again to stoke the coals within her womb. And as he begun again to fill her, amidst the faceless mingling moans and his overwhelming intent to build both their orgasms, neither heard the door opening.


	3. Shit Happens

**Disclaimer:** Nothing! NOTHING, I say! I don't own any of it! Except for the plot...

**A/N:** I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. I was trying to finish this sequel in this chapter, but the way it ends (this chapter, that is) seemed like a good place to leave off. It seems it will be lengthier than I first hoped. Thank you for your continued support, and I hope this meets your expectations.

_Lonelylark_

And now, 1,872 words of...well, shit happening.

**Shit Happens**

Pacing.

He was pacing.

He hated pacing, but that was all he could do right now as he tried to gather his thoughts. Inuyasha paused, staring at the solid white door before resuming his pace up and down the hall. At first, he had stood in front of the apartment building, wondering just how he would go through with it. When he had finally entered the building, he'd spent ten minutes just staring at the elevator. The few patrons who were returning to their homes gave him strange looks, but he ignored them, for the most part, until he was ready.

Now he was tracing his steps in front of her door. It had been approximately – he looked at his watch – seven minutes, he noted, looking at her door again as he passed it. Three more minutes, he told himself. He would give himself no more than three minutes to decide what to say.

What to say?

It was a good question.

Almost six months had passed since he'd spoken with her, January 6th having been the last day. To say that the separation was difficult was an understatement.

He had prepared so much for the proposal, and, if he were honest, he had actually been somewhat excited about it. It hadn't bothered him at the time that he didn't know what to say because he loved her so much, but rather because he didn't know how one was supposed start a proposal. Now he understood, and felt just a bit bad about it. Still, he would have never – not in the lifetime of the _sun_ – imagined Kagome would have said 'no'.

They had been together for three years, and three years was a long time. Even though she wasn't Kikyo, she was still good. Kagome was kind, loving, intelligent; she would make the perfect wife, and she would do for him. But that still didn't prevent him from talking to Kikyo every chance he got. The longing he felt whenever he saw her was only soothed by being in her presence, so whenever she was in town or at a gathering, he couldn't help but spend time with her. They never acted out their feelings, though it was evident the attraction was still there, but he knew that if she had never left for America, he would have bought a ring for her.

He acknowledged now that it was wrong of him to leave Kagome alone all on New Year's Eve, but he had not been prepared for Kikyo's appearance. The moment he saw her, he hadn't paid a second thought to the fact that Miroku and Sango had opted to stay home for the festivities, and that Kagome, though sociable, would be alone for the most part. All he could think about was how it would likely be the last time he spoke to Kikyo as a single – or at least unmarried – man.

By the time he'd realized how late it was and searched for his girlfriend, any guilt he may have felt at leaving her alone was replaced with anger at seeing her dancing with his brother. Innocent enough as it was, he hated to see her enjoying herself with Sesshoumaru, the brother he never quite got along with. He'd snatched her away, led her to the balcony, and turned his back to her so she wouldn't see his fatigue. In all honesty, he was anxious to get the proposal over with, though why he was anxious he didn't know. If Inuyasha was certain of anything, it was that Kagome had loved him long before they began dating. It stood to reason, then, that he in no way expected her to reject his ring.

He should have known she wouldn't wait forever.

Despite the fact that he loved her far less than he should if he had marriage on the mind, the blow of her rejection had hit him hard. He could see it in her eyes, the love she still had for him, but she had ended it nonetheless. Numb, he had stumbled through the crowd of the cheering guests, wondering what he was going to do. Somehow, he had ended up in Kikyo's hotel room that night, in her bed, in _her_.

He'd taken out his frustrations on her willing body, slamming into her over the next three days in a way reminiscent of their past, but steeled with his heavy thoughts. He imagined, for a while, that perhaps something would work out between them, but as he'd smoked a cigarette, naked on the motley comforter of the hotel, he realized she would leave for America again.

When he returned to his apartment four days later than he should have, he found several of Kagome's belongings gone and a message on his answering machine. Though they had been dating for years, they had retained separate domiciles, and only a few shirts and some knick-knacks were what Kagome left at his. Her message said that she knew he hadn't come home, that she hoped that he was okay, and that she would be by on the 6th to pick up her belongings and return his key.

True to her word, she had shown up at his door two days later. She had knocked rather than come in unannounced, and handed him an envelope with his key and a box filled with his tee-shirts. He had packed her things in a box as well, but had not thought of returning her key, so she stood awkwardly outside his door as he removed it from his keychain.

It was June now, and he hadn't spoken with her since then. _June._ It felt like such a long time.

Kikyo had left, of course, and he'd spent the last five months thinking of what he could have been doing with Kagome. Would they have been married by now? Would he have finally taken her body? Perhaps she would have already been pregnant. He loved her, he knew, and even though he loved her less than she loved him, he had to admit how empty it felt without her.

He missed her.

Stopping in front of the door again, Inuyasha clenched his hands. Beyond that door lay her apartment. Beyond that door lay _Kagome_. He missed her, and by God he was going to do something about it. She had to feel the emptiness even more than he himself felt it, and he was determined to set things right again.

Straightening his tan sports jacket, he knocked softly on the door. It was late, he knew, and the fact that she might be sleeping made him feel bad for waking her. Nevertheless, this was something he would resolve tonight. Knocking firmly a second time, he put his ear to the door, searching for footsteps. Instead, he heard a short cry.

The first thing that entered his mind was that Kagome was hurt. Concerned, he instinctively checked the doorknob, only to find it unlocked. Pushing the door open, he hastily stepped in, but paused in the doorway. The apartment was consumed in an inky darkness, and for a moment he was stunned sightless as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light. A muffled cry shook him from his disorientation, reminding him why he had broken into Kagome's apartment. He wanted to move forward, find her and make her ailments go away, but something would not let him pass. Focusing his senses, he became aware of the pants that accompanied her sporadic whimpers, and with the light of the hallway seeping in through the small crack of the open door, he was able to make out a moving silhouette across the spacious living room.

Unwilling to believe what his ears were telling him, Inuyasha reached for the light switch.

* * *

It was the ray of light disturbing their sensory world that first alerted Kagome to the intruder in her home. Delirious from Sesshoumaru's ever-insistent thrusts, she had been oblivious to anything but the weight of his body above her, the piece of him within her, and the wonderful tension he was building in her womb. Sesshoumaru was as consumed as she was, if not more so.

Conscious enough to glance in the direction of the door, she made out the shadow of what she could only assume to be a man. Alarm bells began to ring in her ears, and it seemed as if her lover had no intention of paying the stranger any heed.

"Se-Se-" was all she could muster in warning before her breath hitched and she let out a series of yelps and moans. Sesshoumaru had abruptly quickened his pace, and was beginning to thrust with an erratic fervor. As his he wrapped an arm beneath her waist and tilted her hips, he hit a new spot within her that left her breathless. Eyes rolling to the back of her head, Kagome forgot about the stranger in the doorway, lost in the pleasure of Sesshoumaru's shaft and the crescendo of their moans and grunts.

The warmth he had built initially within her was nothing in comparison to the fire that burst within her abdomen in one quick moment. Screaming her orgasm into the void, she reveled in the violent waves of pleasure he had forced from her, and even more so in the jets of Sesshoumaru's molten essence filling her womb as he came.

It wasn't until Sesshoumaru had collapsed above her in exhaustion and her own heart had ceased pounding its fierce staccato that she had come to the hazy realization that the lights were on, when she was indubitably certain that she had _not_ turned them on. It was an enraged, familiar male voice, however, that brought her to attention to the forgotten stranger at the door.

"What the _fuck_ is going on?"

* * *

_I'm dead._

That was all he could think as he stood stupefied, his hand dropping from the light switch.

_I'm dead and this is Hell_.

But he knew better, because there was _no way even in Hell_ that Kagome would sleep with his brother. Satan wouldn't be _that _cruel. Inuyasha was most definitely on the mortal plane.

He should have never come, never thought of patching up their relationship. He should have listened to the nervous churning of his gut as he wore a hole in the carpet outside of her apartment, telling him to turn away. He could have hopped on the next plane to America, sold his apartment, sold his _soul – anything_ that would have prevented him from seeing this…_this!_

He stood petrified, the door left ajar behind him, as he watched the only person he hated most fucking the last girl that gave him any hope. He wanted to close his eyes, run away, and never talk to either one of them again, but even as their moans deafened him and his stomach turned with indigestion, he couldn't help but ask.

"What the _fuck_ is going on?!"


	4. Happiness Happens

**Disclaimer:** As of yet, I have not gained the rights to any of the Inuyasha characters, or the original Feudal Fairy Tale plotline. I did, however, write this story originally. Please don't steal.

**A/N:** Dearest readers, I apologize _profusely_ – at the risk of sounding like Ritsu from Fruits Basket - for the delay. I had an idea of how I wanted the concluding section to be, but I had no idea how I wanted to go about it. I am finally putting it out here for you, and humbly request that you give me your sincerest opinions, for I shall be nothing but honest to you now: I think it could have been much better. I, as an author, am uncertain of my satisfaction with the final ending, and as such, it is subject to change. I ask that you please review with your own esteemed suggestions and remarks on this piece both as a whole and in sum.

I must say, though, that I am learning to like it a little more day-by-day. It is definately a relief that this story is completed, and just in time for my birthday! Wish me luck tomorrow, as I add another candle to the cake!

Many thanks, Lonelylark

**Happiness Happens**

Sesshoumaru froze, aware for the first time that something was very wrong. He had just gotten engaged to and had mind-blowing sex with the only woman he had ever loved, but it seemed the Gods did not plan to give him a chance to bask in their first intimate afterglow. He hadn't even had the chance to slide his member out of her before he was assaulted by his brother's voice.

"What the _fuck_ is going on?" Inuyasha cried from the doorway.

_How appropriate__,_ thought Sesshoumaru wryly. It was the same question he had on the tip of his tongue.

Sensing the lack of a rising chest against his, he looked down to find that Kagome was just as surprised at their impromptu guest, and equally mortified. Not bothering to withdraw from her body, he settled over her quickly to preserve what modesty she had left.

Kagome's mouth opened to speak, but all she could seem to muster was a choked rendition of the first two letter of Inuyasha's name. The horror on her face was understandable, of course – it had been almost six months since she'd even _seen_ Inuyasha. For them to meet again under these…_complicated_ circumstances was needless to say the worst way possible. To spare his fiancé any more awkwardness than was necessary, Sesshoumaru took the initiative.

"I believe this is called 'breaking and entering', Inuyasha," he said scathingly. Somehow, he was able to block Kagome's body from his brother's view and pull a coverlet off the couch to conceal their naked torsos. "It would seem you've sunk to a new low."

His words seemed to snap Inuyasha out of his confused stupor and throw him into rage.

"Shut the Hell up, you bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Cocking a dark eyebrow, the elder brother answered plainly, "I think it is very obvious what I am doing."

"You son of a _bitch_!" Inuyasha growled out lowly. "You couldn't get your own girl, so you had to steal _mine?!_"

"I-Inuyasha," Kagome stuttered, regaining her voice, "It's not like that!"

"Then how the fuck _is_ it? 'Cause it sure fuckin' seems like he's just got his dick up your cunt!"

Kagome flinched at his crude language, and the debasement she felt at the way he said it. "I-It's…Sessh…" she tried to explain feebly, hating how pathetic and weak she sounded. "Sesshoumaru and I…"

"We're engaged," Sesshoumaru proclaimed firmly, proudly. He cut her a quick glance, and from it she understood what he wanted to tell her. _'It is okay to be weak. When you are weak, I will be your strength.'_

Inuyasha's gaze flicked to the feminine hand that clutched his brother's shoulders above the blue throw blanket, and to the glittering band that adorned its ring finger. The realization that hit him only served to anger him further.

"So you wouldn't marry me after three years – wouldn't even let me _touch_ you – and you open your legs to this asshole in _five months?!_"

Inuyasha didn't know what to do with his hands – whether he should ball them up in fists, or let them flail, or pull his hair. What they really itched to do was lunge across the room and strangle them both. The living room was hot, thickening the scent of their coupling. Kagome, ever the conscious consumer, always left the air off when she wasn't home, especially in the summer months. The thought sickened him; they hadn't even bothered to turn the air on before they'd thrown their clothes off and began having sex beside the couch that _he _had picked out with her. They hadn't even bothered to turn on the lights, to lock the door!

That they could share such passion for each other, something he had never been allowed to experience, he felt physically like a punch to the gut.

_Five__ months_. She'd turned him down, just to get engaged again in _five months_, the bitch!

"What, did you use me to get to him?" Inuyasha sneered, using a front of disgust to hide his pain. "Figured you'd get a better catch with _Sesshoumaru Taisho, _the_ rich businessman_?"

"No!" Kagome protested just as Sesshoumaru growled out Inuyasha's name in warning. This kind of treatment of Kagome he would not stand for, whether it came from his direct kin or not. "No, that's not –"

Her ex-boyfriend continued without restraint, throwing aside her negations and his brother's threatening glare. "I bet you two knew each other even before New Year's!" he accused. "So, how long have you been fucking, eh? When did you start cheating on me, you –"

"That's not how it happened!" Kagome cried out. At her insistent pushing, Sesshoumaru knelt back on the carpet and pulled her against him in a seated position, wrapping the blue blanket around them like a cocoon.

"Then how the fuck _did_ it happen, Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded, yelling louder than he had all night. Kagome felt herself turning red, knowing the neighbors could hear him next door. "How the _fuck_ did it happen, because he sure as hell didn't just drop his prick in your hole!"

"It just happened!" she bellowed back. Tears had begun to leak from her eyes in an uncontrollable torrent, and she breathed hysterically with both outrage and upset. "Things happen, Inuyasha! Love happens! _Happines_ happens!"

Unable to hold back, she let out a tired sob and dropped her forehead into the crook of Sesshoumaru's neck. Really, considering how much he hated his brother and how short a time after their break-up it had taken her to get engaged, it was no surprise Inuyasha would jump to the assumption that she had been fooling around with his brother behind his back. Even so, she felt the sting of his words, of his doubt in her integrity and self-worth. She had never had a real boyfriend until she'd dated Inuyasha, and she sure as Hell wasn't immoral enough to cheat on him. If there was one thing Kagome Higurashi was not, and never would be, it was a whore.

Inuyasha watched, entranced by her words, as his brother soothed her with just a tender nuzzle, his hair hiding her face from him. It was difficult to understand what he felt. Though in all rationality, he should have thought her explanation was bullshit, the conviction with which she had said it struck a cord in him. She loved his brother, that made sense – though in a sick, twisted way (considering anyone could love such a stiff bastard), 'love' would at least explain their position.

But Happiness?

"H…Happiness?" Kagome had loved him, Inuyasha, at one time, too. Hadn't she been happy?

At his broken question, Kagome lifted her face from Sesshoumaru's shoulder to look at him.

"Yes, Inuyasha," she said quietly, sadly. "Happiness."

"But Kagome…Kagome, we were –"

"Inuyasha, did you really think that I could be happy knowing you still love Kikyo as much as you do?" she asked. "Neither of us was happy. That's why I said 'no'. There was no other reason."

For a moment, Inuyasha looked down at his feet in thought, noticing vaguely the house keys he crushed beneath his leather loafers. Was _this_ what she felt like every time he disappeared during parties? This sense of defeat, of utter hopelessness?

_After all this time…_

"All this time," he started softly, gazing at her dazedly with his head tilted to the side. "All this time, I thought I made you happy."

Nodding ruefully, she replied, "So did I."

A silence descended upon the three of them again, and though it was still awkward, the angry tension that had earlier filled the air no longer sparked between them. Sesshoumaru, who had stayed oddly silent throughout the larger part of the argument, stared blankly at Inuyasha over the crown of Kagome's head. Inuyasha found it strange that his half-brother hadn't said more in his fiancé's defense, but in a moment of clarity he understood.

With his arms wrapped possessively around her, cradling her to his body and covering her nude form from Inuyasha's eyes, Sesshoumaru did not need to speak to support Kagome. Though he was a fierce protector, he also understood when one needed to stand alone. There was a time, when they were very young and still on friendly terms, that Sesshoumaru had taught him to ride a two-wheeler. He'd run countless times behind him down the street, pushing the bike as Inuyasha had peddled, until one time he'd forced Inuyasha to do it on his own. It was such a time for Kagome, to stand on her own two feet, and Sesshoumaru would respect that while comforting her in the only way he had left to do so.

It was something Inuyasha had never been able to do, to step back and let her hold her own. Sesshoumaru would take good care of her.

"Sesshoumaru, he…"

Kagome looked up at her fiancé, and there was no mistaking the warm look that entered her eyes, nor the way her face softened and a mild smile stole her lips. "Yes," she whispered, comprehending the unasked question. "He makes me very happy."

The younger Taisho averted his eyes from the heart-wrenching scene, nodding slowly. It seemed there was nothing he could do but nod. With a feeble clearing of his throat, he declared, "I'll be going then," turned, and gently closed the door behind him as he left.

Releasing a weary sigh, Kagome dropped her forehead again on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. His body was very warm against her, and the decorative blue throw he had used to cover them had them both sweat in the unair-conditioned room. Despite it all, she snuggled into his chest more, allowing his hot arms to tighten further around her waist.

"Did I do the right thing?" she couldn't help asking.

Sesshoumaru stroked her spine comfortingly. "You did fine. He was bound to find out at some point in time."

"I know," Kagome nodded, arching into his soothing touch with closed eyes. "I just wish it wouldn't have been like _this_."

"Indeed." The silver-haired businessman would have chuckled at the night's events had it not been their first time together that had been so unduly interrupted. It seemed his younger brother upheld his record for having the most inconvenient timing. Digging his nose into her hairline and taking a deep, cleansing breath, he smirked. "We will be married."

The notion dispelled all his displeasing thoughts. An urge to skip all proceedings and head directly to the courthouse the next day to sign the papers arose deep within him. He didn't want to wait.

He could feel the subtle smile stretch her lips against his collarbone, as she repeated his words. "We will be married." Kagome's contentment alone pacified his desire to make it official tomorrow. Though unconventional in many ways, Kagome would still want the traditional wedding, and for her he would do anything.

A devious grin spread across his face, and although Kagome could not see it, her reaction was immediate. She gasped in surprise, startled when he flexed his member purposely within her, making her realize that for the entire duration of tonight's episode he had not retreated. As he allowed the blanket covering them to pool at their feet, she shivered involuntarily.

"Sesshoumaru," she intoned warily. The heated glint of amusement in his eyes gave her enough warning, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. With a firm grip on her rear, he stood from his kneeling position, tearing a yelp of fear from her as she flailed for balance against him. Long, toned legs wrapped around his hips, and lithe arms around his neck, she clung for dear life as he walked to her bedroom.

Laughing at her outraged expression, he half dropped her on the bed, leaning with her. His semi-erect shaft shifted half-way out in the process, and he slid back in to the base as he settled over her. Their breaths both caught with similar whimpers. Glaring at him with half-hearted reproach, Kagome scowled.

"You're lucky I love you."

"Yes," he smiled, placing a tender kiss to her lips as he stroked the underside of her breast lovingly, recalling the words he'd said to her months earlier and the secret promise he'd made to be the one to fulfill them:

'_He's a very lucky man, to be the one to make you happy.'_

"I am a very lucky man."


End file.
